Sir John James Burnet FRSE FRIBA RSA RA (31 May 1857[1] – 2 July 1938) was a Scottish Edwardian architect who was noted for a number of prominent buildings in Glasgow and London.

Burnet's parents were at first reluctant to send their son to a Catholic country which had been subject to the political turmoil of the Paris Commune that year, but, in 1872, he began studying under Jean-Louis Pascal, Spiers' former teacher.

While studying in Pascal's atelier, Burnet forged a lifelong friendship with Henri Paul Nénot.

In 1878 Burnet won the competition to build the Fine Art Institute in Glasgow, his first truly independent work.

Burnet was unsuccessful with his entry to design the Glasgow City Chambers in 1882, but his Clyde Navigation Trust building (1882–86) ensured his success through a recession.

Their dramatic shift in style did not always meet with favour; designs for the competitions to build the Central Thread Agency in Glasgow and the North British Hotel in Edinburgh were rejected.

"Burnet Baroque" was highly influential; their competitors quickly assimilated the new vogue for Neo-Baroque and by 1900 it was the common language of Glasgow building, and even influenced the winning design of the North British Hotel by William Hamilton Beattie.

In 1903–1904 the Office of Works selected Burnet to design the Edward VII Galleries at the British Museum in London.

Burnet continued his study visits to the United States in 1908 and 1910, looking at the design of warehouses, hospitals, museums and galleries.

After the war, the London office began to receive commissions once more, including work on completing the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street.

His health was deteriorating, however; stress-related eczema, brought on by wartime hardship, professional disagreements and financial scandals in the Glasgow office, made it hard for him to work.

Burnet himself dealt with the redesign on Lomax Simpson's Unilever House project, but otherwise acted as a consultant and went into semi-retirement.